John Dunmore

Who is John Dunmore?

John Dunmore CNZM is a prominent New Zealand academic, historian, author, playwright, and publisher.

Dunmore was born in Trouville-sur-Mer, France, lived in Jersey under German Occupation during World War II, and then in England, where he received a BA from the University of London. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1950. He completed a PhD under historian J C Beaglehole at Victoria University of Wellington in 1962, studying the French contribution to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century. He was Professor of French, Head of the Department of Modern Languages, and Dean of Humanities at Massey University, from which he retired in 1985.

Dunmore's main field of history is the exploration of the Pacific, particularly by French navigators. He has written two major biographies of La Pérouse, and translated and edited his journals. In addition, he has written biographies and edited the journals of both de Surville and of Bougainville. His biography of de Surville, The fateful voyage of the St. Jean Baptiste, won the Wattie Book of the Year award in 1970.

His work is highly regarded by scholars as well as by the public: